1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a thermal contact device for use with a circuit board to permit thermal coupling of an electronic package or module to a cold plate. More particularly, the present invention relates to a thermal contact device that permits such thermal coupling while furthermore readily enabling mechanical decoupling of the circuit board.
2. Background Discussion
In certain circuit board environments, particularly in the data processing and computer field, there are circuit boards that are considered to be high temperature boards that require thermal cooling. In such high temperature boards, it is desirable to provide a cold plate in physical contact with a populated board for cooling purposes. It is typical to provide both the board (also conventionally referred to as a mother board) and the cold plate in a rigidly connected arrangement. However, with such an arrangement it is cumbersome and time consuming to replace boards in the field.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an intermediate thermal contact device adapted to be mounted between a populated circuit board and a cold plate to permit thermal coupling between the circuit board and the cold plate while at the same time allowing for ease of field replaceability of the circuit board.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a circuit board thermal contact device that has enhanced vibration damping characteristics.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a thermal contact device for a circuit board in which the device has a variably controlled thickness so as to accommodate populated circuit boards of various height.